Monday, 25 July 2011

OH NO I'VE DONE IT AGAIN

My wife seemed remarkably relaxed when I told her I'd bought a vintage but tatty frame on eBay with the idea of doing it up in order to sell it.

It was only when I showed it to her a couple of weeks later that she threw a wobbly. She had thought I'd bought a picture frame not a bike frame.

[Before]The frame as seen on eBay

[After]The head tube after respray & new decal

The frame half way through decal application

Who couldn't be moved by this Campagnolo decal?

So now I'm back up to four bikes (well three and a half until the Rossin is re-built). I might have to sell one of them. But which one?You can read more about the Rossin project here. Unless you're Mrs ElPrez in which case, it'll be up for sale soon dear, honest.

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TOO MANY BIKES?

As any obsessed cyclist will tell you, you can never have enough bikes. This phenomenon is known in cycling circles as n+1, n being the number of bikes you own, n+1 being the number of bikes you would like to own. And somehow the 'perfect' bike seems always just out of reach (unless you have deep pockets perhaps). Once you think you've found one, another seems to pop up out of the blue.

Until recently I had four bikes: A Canyon Ultimate AL 9.0 Di2 (summer bike), a Tifosi CK7 Veloce (winter bike), a Surly Cross Check 'custom' 10 speed commuting bike, and a 1977 Koga Miyata ´Gents Tourer´. I sold the Canyon and the Tifosi with a view to replacing them with a winter ´superbike´ orginally based on a Kinesis Gran Fondo Ti frame. Components have been sourced, but I waited so long on a 60cm frame that I ended up buying an Enigma Etape frame instead. Bit more expensive, but it´s lovely. It´ll be used all year round, that´s the theory.

I´ve also sold the Koga as it was a bit of a beast for the hills at L´Éroica Britannia 2014. I replaced it with a vintage Holdsworth Élan for renovation (now sold because of lack of use by the extended family) and a 1984 bronze coloured Vitus 979 in great condition. It had been mothballed for 20 years!

....but I also sometime feel that I 'need', in no particular order: a track bike, a pub bike, and possibly something to use off-road. And now I've sold the Rossin I'm on the lookout for one with original components. If only I had somewhere to put them all...

LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS

GUIDE FOR BIKE BUYERSCurrent road bikes arranged by price & weight.Invaluable if you're thinking of buying a new road bike.

ROSSIN FRAME PROJECTWhat happens next when a slightly tatty frame is bought on eBay. Single Speed conversion, geared rebuild using authentic period components, geared rebuild using modernish components?Now becoming a bit of a Rossin resource.

Simon and Nick at The London Cycle Workshop put up with me hanging out. They taught me how to lace a wheel. I promptly forgot.

This is for roadies who really do think that every gram counts. No it´s not Weight Watchers, it´s Weight Weenies